Flower-filled  Cuernavaca is a weekend retreat for many Mexico City residents, and also hosts a  sizable North American and foreign colony. Some come only for the winter months,  others live here permanently. If you dream of a Mexican villa or hacienda with  lush vegetation and a year-round temperate climate, this might be the ideal  place for you.

The Robb Report, a U.S. luxury lifestyle publication, named Cuernavaca to its 1999 list of the world's top 10 communities to live in. At a lower cost of living than other  world-class resorts, residents enjoy golf, tennis and equestrian facilities,  beauty and health spas, U.S. television programming, private schools, delightful restaurants, varied cultural events and day trips to archaeological sites,  recreational parks, thermal springs, and fascinating villages.

Whether renting or buying, you should know that the south part of Cuernavaca is 1,000 feet lower than the more elevated north part of town and as much as 10 degrees warmer. Even for a prospective buyer it's wise to rent first to become acquainted with the  local life and culture.

Most foreigners  choose to live in Cuernavaca proper rather than a suburb, citing privacy, security and convenience. Tepoztlan, a nearby town that's dominated by mountains and is a popular weekend destination for Mexico City residents and day tourists, and the village of Cocoyoc and its adjacent modern development, Lomas de Cocoyoc, have their admirers, but none offer those three major qualities to the  extent Cuernavaca does.

Building can be  difficult in a foreign language, but there are English-speaking architects who  can help. It's cheaper and easier to buy a property and most prices are negotiable. Besides, most of the excellent sites already are occupied.

A residence with a lovely garden (or backyard, as they say in the States) and pool, built by a known architect on a private street ("privada") is priced from about  350,000 dollars.

Actual offers of Real estate of Cuernavaca can be found on Tierra Bienes Raices