Cuernavaca to live and do business?

I'd be interested in hearing of your decision. We only recently started thinking of a move to Cuernavaca as a less expensive alternative to San Miguel and Ajijic. We didn't know the city in the past so we do not know it pre crime increase. We're considering Tepotzlan as well.

We lived in Cuernavaca from 2004 to 2012, full time. We loved living there. We were (accent on were) retired so we didn't work there. There's a very large and active expat community with many Americans, Canadians and people from all over the world. We speak Spanish so we spent lots of time with Mexican people also. We had a beautiful home on Subida a Chalma, and now have a home right over the line into Estado de Mexico in a little village called Ahuatenco, which we keep for visits.
Write to me if you have any more questions or if you want me to get you in touch with other people who can tell you more about doing business.
Mariana

Thanks for posting.  I don't know about Cuernavaca as a less expensive alternative though.  I don't know the other places you mentioned but I find Cuernavaca compared to other Mexican cities to be expensive.  Im from central FL and the rents Ive found are comparable to here.  My email is wiffund@gmail if you would like to stay in touch.  Ill be going there in May to try and determine if the business Im considering going into can be profitable.
Jayne

Thanks so much for your offer.  I know a lot of people there and the business Im looking into is my friends which is already established but I believe I can increase it.   Im sure it would be beneficial to have more contacts and I would like to know how to get in touch with expats.  All my friends are locals.

I retired in Cuernavaca about a year ago. The crime rate has increased with the decline in the economy. There are a lot of robberies and break-ins. There is little to do except go out to eat, shop at the one nice mall. The "Eternal Spring" is more like the "Eternal Summer." It's been over 90 degrees F every day since mid March, and will be like this through September. The center of the city is very unattractive, and the narrow, pot holed streets are often blocked for protests of one kind or another.After you've seen Cortes' Castle (Now a nice museum) there's not much else of note. I live in a nice, guarded subdivision in the Northern area of the city 10 min from the one nice mall and nicer neighborhoods near the nicer avenues of San Diego and Rio Mayo.
We've met nice people and friends, mostly Mexicans, but some U.S. also. Cultural activities of quality are mainly found in Mexico City. You can go to Mexico City by nice bus in an hour and 20 min very cheaply. There's also a lot of traffic in Cuernavaca, and the streets are in horrible disrepair. The locals call it Cuernabaches. A bache is a pot hole.

Does anyone have an opinion on what areas in mexico might be good/safe for a single woman retiree from California?

Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Coatepec.

This may help:
http://howsafeismexico.com/mexico_states_safety.html

Why did you retire there?

Zacatecas - there's NO expat community.  It's an attraction to sophisticated visitors from all over the world.  It has an extraordinary colonial ambiance and a wide selection of art galleries, museums and cultural attractions.  It never too hot.  It gets too cold at times and the altitude was getting to be too much for me.

Coatepec - It's a small city close to a large state capital.  Everything is within easy reach walking or economical cab and bus.  Whatever isn't available in Coatepec is available in the state capital, Xalapa.  Winter is short.  Altitude is easier on my lungs.  People get to know you quickly and personal service is common.  High temperatures can get uncomfortable but so far it's only about 2 hours a day and the house keeps most of it out.

It is within 4 hours of Mexico City and other cultural, historical and archaeological centers.