Chciałabym mieszkać bliżej centrum, ale ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna.

Chciałabym means I would like and sounds softer, more polite, and less direct than chcę (I want).

So:

• Chcę mieszkać bliżej centrum = I want to live closer to the center
• Chciałabym mieszkać bliżej centrum = I would like to live closer to the center

In Polish, this form is very common when talking about wishes, preferences, or polite requests.

That -a- shows the speaker is female.

• chciałbym = I would like said by a man
• chciałabym = I would like said by a woman

This happens because Polish past-tense-based and conditional forms often show the gender of the speaker.

So if a man said the sentence, it would be:

Chciałbym mieszkać bliżej centrum, ale ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna.

After chciałabym, Polish normally uses an infinitive to say what someone would like to do.

So:

• chciałabym mieszkać = I would like to live
• chciałbym kupić = I would like to buy
• chciałabym zobaczyć = I would like to see

This works a lot like English would like to + verb.

Mieszkać is the normal verb for to live / reside somewhere.

• mieszkać w Warszawie = to live in Warsaw
• mieszkać blisko pracy = to live near work

Other verbs are different:

• żyć means to live in the sense of to be alive / to lead a life
• zamieszkać is usually more like to move in / to start living somewhere

So in this sentence, mieszkać is the natural choice because the speaker is talking about where they would like to live, not the act of moving there.

Bliżej means closer / more closely, and after it Polish commonly uses the genitive.

So:

• blisko centrum = near the center
• bliżej centrum = closer to the center

The important point is that centrum looks the same here, so you do not see an obvious case ending change. That can be confusing for learners, but the structure is still normal.

A useful pattern to remember is:

• blisko + genitive
• bliżej + genitive

Because Polish does not need a separate preposition here. The idea of closer to is already built into bliżej.

So English uses:

• closer to the center

But Polish naturally says:

• bliżej centrum

Word-for-word matching does not always work between English and Polish.

Ta means this or that, depending on context. Here it points to a specific street:

• ta ulica = this street / that street

Yes, it can often be omitted if the context is clear:

• Ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna = The street is quiet and safe
• Ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna = This/that street is quiet and safe

Using ta makes it more specific and a bit more contrastive, as if the speaker is referring to one particular street.

Because they agree with ulica, which is a feminine singular noun.

• ulica = feminine singular
• therefore the adjectives must also be feminine singular:
  • cicha
  • bezpieczna

Compare:

• ten dom jest cichy i bezpieczny = this house is quiet and safe
  masculine
• to mieszkanie jest ciche i bezpieczne = this apartment is quiet and safe
  neuter
• ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna = this street is quiet and safe
  feminine

This kind of adjective agreement is a basic and very important part of Polish grammar.

Yes, it is very natural. Cicha here means quiet, not completely silent.

So ta ulica jest cicha means something like:

• the street is not noisy
• there is not much traffic
• the area feels calm

It is a very normal way to describe a street or neighborhood.

Ale means but and introduces a contrast.

The contrast here is:

• I would like to live closer to the center
• but this street is quiet and safe

So the speaker is weighing two things against each other:

1. being closer to the center
2. staying in a quieter, safer place

This is a very common use of ale.

The given word order is very natural:

Chciałabym mieszkać bliżej centrum, ale ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna.

Polish word order is more flexible than English, but changing it can shift emphasis.

For example:

• Bliżej centrum chciałabym mieszkać puts more emphasis on closer to the center
• Ale ta ulica jest cicha i bezpieczna gives a little more emphasis to the contrast introduced by ale

Even though Polish allows flexibility, the original sentence is the most neutral and natural version for everyday use.

A few parts may be difficult for English speakers:

• chciałabym
• bliżej
• ulica
• bezpieczna

Some helpful notes:

• ch in Polish sounds like a strong h sound
• ł sounds like English w
• cz sounds like ch in chop
• ż sounds like the s in measure
• ci before a vowel sounds a bit like a soft chi / tchi

Very rough approximations:

• chciałabym ≈ hchaw-a-bim
• bliżej ≈ bli-zhej
• ulica ≈ oo-LEE-tsa
• bezpieczna ≈ bez-PYECH-na

These are only approximations, but they can help at first.