Ты когда‑нибудь хотел жить в другом городе?

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Breakdown of Ты когда‑нибудь хотел жить в другом городе?

• город: the city
• хотеть: to want
• другой: another

Questions & Answers about Ты когда‑нибудь хотел жить в другом городе?

Why is the verb хотел in the past tense? In English we say “Have you ever wanted…?” (present perfect), but Russian uses a simple past.

Russian does not have a separate present perfect tense like English.

To express English “have you ever wanted”, Russian normally uses:

• когда‑нибудь + past tense

So:

• Ты когда‑нибудь хотел жить в другом городе?
  literally: Did you ever want to live in another city?
  but functionally it means: Have you ever wanted to live in another city?

Other similar patterns:

• Ты когда‑нибудь был в Москве? – Have you ever been to Moscow?
• Ты когда‑нибудь видел это? – Have you ever seen this?

The combination когда‑нибудь + past tense gives the “ever in your life up to now” meaning that English expresses with the present perfect.

What is the nuance of когда‑нибудь here? How is it different from когда‑то or just когда?