Subtropical to Tropical, so it wants to stay warm. I would recommend full sun, and reflected heat--reflected heat meaning from nearby light stucco or concrete walls, or concrete pavement--entities that absorb considerable solar heat during the day, and radiate it at night, keeping nearby areas a little warmer than they would otherwise be. If you are considerably inland, with hotter summers and slightly colder winters, frost protection might be needed in winter and more watering required in summer.

Here's an interesting blog entry about cultivation, keep in mind this writer is in India (I think) a more tropical climate, so allow for differences.

Here is a link that might be useful: bitter melon growing