Denver/Colorado Springs relocation?

My husband and I are considering relocating to Colorado for a few years to do school and explore a little after he gets out of the military and before we settle down back in Virginia with family. We're 20 and 22, no kids. He likes outdoors, I like nightlife and access to shopping anywhere I could desire. I've done extensive research on schools for me, and finally found a Medical Lab Tech program in Denver at Arapahoe CC. He wants to do a bachelors in Computer Science, and has multiple options for school (although it does look like university of colorado colorado springs might be the best option). We had originally decided on Colorado Springs because he has friends there, but it looks like Denver is my only option for school.

Is it at all reasonable to live in between Colorado Springs and Denver and both commute 30 mins to school? Are there any established towns in between the two (I'm not seeing much come up on maps)? If I was to convince him to live in the Denver area, are there any suburbs outside of the city you could recommend that aren't too crowded, not overly expensive (~$1000 rent), and low crime rate?

ALSO, what kind of transportation will we need? I have a 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder 2009 Toyota Corolla, and we'll need to purchase a second vehicle after arriving there. We were looking into motorcycles. Is that at all viable in the geography/climate of the areas? Also, how will my car work out there? We could get a 4WD truck if necessary, but the motorcycle will be easier financially.

Thanks for the help everyone! Open to any advice you have!