Hi, thinking about coming to Oregon for a three month job assignment May-July...don't know much about the state but LOVE to be on the coast. Any tips on good areas to live, good hospitals (preferably pediatrics?) Thanks!

Unfortunately, this isn't a real easy thing to answer. Our summers typically begin around July 5th, but that is not to say that you won't encounter some nice weather earlier. Your timing just means that you will get to enjoy it here before the tourists typically arrive. The coast is beautiful anytime of the year, but realize it is not like a FL or southern CA coastline. There are some nice coastal towns, but none are very large.

I am guessing here, but would think you would be looking more to Portland the larger areas for places to work. More options to choose from, etc. The good thing is, Portland and down through the Willamette Valley (Salem, Eugene, Corvallis) all have plenty of hospitals and are all only about 1 1/2 hours from the coast.

For a short stay, I would suggest Portland or nearby. Close to the coast, but also close to Mt. Hood and the gorge. Also only 3 hours from Seattle for some fun trips.

Major population Centers are all inland, over the first range of Mountains.
Portland/Salem, Eugene/Springfield, Medford/Grants Pass/Ashland, Bend/Sun River/ Redmond(east of the Cascades) are your most likely suspects.
here's one local organization.
http://www.asante.org/

We also have Providence health systems down here(Rogue Valley)
The Oregon Coast is pretty remote, and minimally connected to the rest of the state, though it is what most folks ask about around here.
Your best chance for Hospitals would likely be in Astoria and Newport on the Coast proper

bbqboy--I am glad you chimed in with the southern areas!

The Oregon Coast is beautiful but in May -Jul is frequently pretty cold- as stated in previous post you might be better off considering a job inland and travelling to the coast for visits.

I live in Eugene, 1 1/2 hrs to the coast
The big healthcare care organization here is PeaceHealth with hospitals throughout Washington, Oregon and Alaska- they do have a small hospital in Florence but doubt if there is a peds dept.

The OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) complex includes a children's hospital; it is in the southwest part of Portland, up on a hill. Portland is at the confluence of two rivers, so there is lots of water, but the ocean beaches are an hour or more away. Portland itself generally enjoys warm sunny weather in the early summer, although there is some rain too. It's a great city---my kids live there (one is a medical student) and find lots to do both in the city (pubs, movies, great restaurants) and nearby (hiking, skiing, cycling, beaches).

Sunbum's right. Most folks live 1-2 hours from the Ocean, so we motor over for the day.
ADD: Bend and the Rogue Valley are in the Mountains, the other Areas are near Mountains, but themselves fairly low elevation and flat.

Portland sounds great, I know so little about Oregon except good snowboarding (I'm from Virginia) but I've heard it's wonderful. Maybe my next assingment, late summer early fall would be more ideal weather wise? Between California coast, San Francisco, Seattle, Oregon, and Denver. Want to do them all, just need to figure out the best order and times of year to go

If you want to enjoy Oregon to the max I would definatly consider spending my time between Jul and Sept - after that anything goes

Hmmmm. . . . maybe go with your earlier thoughts of California in the May-July timeframe, and then either Seattle or Portland July -September. Seattle is considerably farther from the ocean than Portland, and many of the beaches are wild, hike-in beaches, until you get further south. As for hospitals, there is an excellent Children's Hospital here in Seattle.

While the actual Pacific is a ways from Seattle (3 hours down to Graylands, Westport, that area) it *is* on the Puget Sound and has several lakes. So while not a true beach community, there are lots of pleasant beaches and parks on the Sound and Lake Washington both.