Great Denver area bike trails start up in Thornton! And they're in the process of extending my east Boulder County trail system out to Erie, welcome aboard! I live in Louisville and work on the east side of Boulder (bike commuting 7 miles 1-way) and some of my co-workers drive in from Thornton, it is a longish commute but doable. A ton of them live in Erie. When we first moved here in '91 and my husband worked at 120th and Pecos we rented in Westminster for 9 months til we figured out where we wanted to live, so I think your plan is a good one.

Don't overlook Craigslist. A quick look at the Denver slice in the apts/housing section, searching on Thornton, turns up a bunch.

But since you're jobhunting, ehirsch of Winter Park, tell us about yourself if you're willing. Or feel free to link to me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/marciarodney