Thinking of moving to Oregon from Tucson, Arizona.

Sorry David, guess folks were preoccupied.

Oregon does have Magnet hospitals. There are 3 in the Portland area, Providence-Portland, Providence-St Vincents and VAMC. I know that OHSU is working on theirs. According to the ANCC 2006 annual report, the three listed are the only ones in Oregon.

I don't know what the job market is currently in Portland. The whole state is considered to be in a nursing shortage, but urban areas are always in less need -- except it seems ICUs are all short. New grads have it the hardest b/c there are so many SON in the area. Don't know your area or years of experience, they would, of course have a bearing. That said, go out of the metro area and they are desparate.

As for Colorado vs. Oregon, I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If you can handle the rain, Portland has a milder climate (i.e. little snow in the city). It's holding it's own economically (i.e. not as hard hit as other areas) which also means that housing is still more expensive than other places. I love the PNW and wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but YMMV. Portland is liberal, eco & bike friendly, lots of green space, good transit system, easy/quick access to lots of different kinds of outdoor stuff, lots and lots of good bookstores, resturants and brewpubs. If urban hipster types make your skin crawl, it's not a great place to live. If living int a lily-white community is uncomfortable, maybe not great either (although I don't know that Colorado is much better and our latino population is growing rapidly).

Don't know if that's what your looking for. Have you searched older threads for more info?

All the threads below are about moving to Oregon;

best way to research jobs in OR?

New Grad salaries in portland?

Mi RN moving to Portland oregon

Couplet Care/Postpartum RN thinking of moving to Portland

A RN thinking about moving to Portland.

Nurse Manager Pay

Wondering what Portland's like?

Graduating in December 08-Info about hospitals

LPN moving to Portland

I'm moving to Portland, OR. What's the salary range in the area?

Do you know any hospitals in OR that hire international nurse grads?

Considering moving to Oregon from PA

Best opportunities in OR

Question for Nurses in Portland

Considering moving

question for the nurses in portland

Moving from Ca to Oregon - Is my Ca. license ok to use in Oregon?

Moving from Washington to Portland

SORRY I thought when I copied them they would copy as a link to the threads, however those are TITLES to some older threads about moving to Oregon that may be able to give you some answers to your questions

Hi:

Actually, I have 25+ year experience as a LPN and a BA in Socia Work and I have applied to over 45 jobs in the last 4 months and I am still looking. I have outstanding references and experience in Skilled care (ICU/ER) and Psychiatric Nursing but nothing is happening. I know of many other LPNs in the same situation. It is so bad now that I can not pay my rent come May 1st. Hospital in the Portland area are not hiring LPNs (when referring to LPN's they say "Nurses and LPNs," I found that to be very offensive and demeaning.....I am a NURSE! Unless, you have a big savings account and can afford to wait for months to found a job (Nursing Homes here are the pitts but do hire some LPN's) than you should think about Portland (be warned however that rents for a decent place are not cheap either!)
I wish you the best of luck!