Flow,
1: 4 wheel drive- Having one will help, especially if it's your first time driving in the snow. They do handle better of course. And if nothing else it will give you some confidence. Just don't get over confident. And as a side note the best way to learn how to drive in the snow is to find a parking lot filled with it and purposely lose control so you know how it feels. It's not as hard as you might think to learn. If you can't find a good 4 wheel drive I would definitely lean towards the front wheel drive.
2: As far as apartments try rent.com with these zip codes.
Zip's immediately around Peterson: 80914, 80916, 80925, 80910
Zip's close to Peterson: 80906 (Broadmore Area), 80903, 80907, 80909 (All three downtown)
Zip's up north but still within 20 mins: 80915, 80917, 80918, 80920, 80922
It shouldn't be a problem to find an apartment in one of those with the ameneties and some kind of location that you're looking for.
If you come across a specific apartment in your search PM me and I'll ask around to see if anyone's ever lived there and will get back to you.
Also if you're planning on being here for three years the housing market is pretty easy to get into and start building some equity (just a side note.)
Good luck. Springs is a nice area if you like Mountains and Snow.
[ 25. April 2006, 12:14: Message edited by: egochecks ]