Где бы мы ни жили, мне всё равно хочется хотя бы одного зелёного растения у окна.

This is a fixed Russian pattern meaning wherever we live or no matter where we live.

It is built like this:

• где = where
• бы
• ни
• verb in the past-form shape: жили

Together, где бы ... ни ... creates a concessive idea: the exact place does not matter.

Similar patterns:

• Кто бы ни пришёл... = whoever comes
• Что бы ни случилось... = whatever happens
• Когда бы мы ни встретились... = whenever we meet

So this is not a normal literal combination of separate words; it is a common grammar structure.

After бы, Russian uses the past-tense form of the verb to express things like condition, hypothesis, concession, or non-specific situations.

So жили here does not mean lived in the past. In this pattern, it is just the verb form required after бы.

Compare:

• Если бы мы жили в Москве... = If we lived in Moscow...
• Где бы мы ни жили... = Wherever we live...

So the form looks past, but the meaning depends on the whole construction, not on the verb form alone.

In this kind of expression, both are part of the standard pattern.

• бы helps create the non-literal, hypothetical/concessive structure
• ни reinforces the idea of no matter / ever / any

So где бы мы ни жили is the normal way to say wherever we live.

If you remove one of them, the sentence either becomes incorrect or changes meaning.

This pattern is very common:

• как бы ни...
• куда бы ни...
• сколько бы ни...
• кто бы ни...

Think of бы ... ни here as a grammatical pair.

Because in this construction Russian uses ни, not не.

• не is the ordinary negation particle
• ни often appears in concessive or indefinite patterns like whoever / wherever / no matter how

So:

• Где бы мы ни жили... = correct
• Где бы мы не жили... = generally wrong for this meaning

For English speakers, this is worth memorizing as a fixed rule: question word + бы + subject + ни + verb

Both are possible in Russian in some contexts, but they are not exactly the same in tone.

• я хочу = I want
• мне хочется = I feel like / I have a desire for / I find myself wanting

Хочется is more impersonal and often softer, more emotional, or more spontaneous. It can sound less direct than я хочу.

So here:

• мне всё равно хочется... feels like
  I still find myself wanting...
  or
  I still want... anyway

It expresses an inner wish rather than a plain statement of intention.

Here всё равно means something like:

• all the same
• anyway
• regardless
• no matter what

In this sentence, it connects nicely with the first clause:

• Где бы мы ни жили = wherever we live
• мне всё равно хочется... = I still want... / I want it anyway

So the idea is: the location may change, but that desire stays the same.

A common learner mistake is to think всё равно only means I don’t care. It can mean that in other contexts, but here it means regardless / still / all the same.

Because хочется often takes the thing desired in the genitive case, especially when the meaning is I’d like some / I want at least one / I feel like having...

Here the desired thing is:

• одного зелёного растения = one green plant

This whole phrase is in the genitive singular:

• одного
• зелёного
• растения

That matches the way хочется is being used here.

This type of genitive is very common after impersonal desire words:

• Мне хочется чая. = I want some tea.
• Мне хочется покоя. = I want peace.
• Мне хочется одного вопроса задать. = I want to ask one question.

So the genitive here feels natural and idiomatic.

Because the phrase is governed by хочется, which here prefers the genitive.

Compare:

• Я хочу одно зелёное растение.
  Here одно зелёное растение is accusative, because it is the direct object of хочу.

• Мне хочется одного зелёного растения.
  Here the phrase is in the genitive, which is natural with this impersonal structure.

So the difference comes from the verb pattern, not from the noun itself.

Хотя бы means:

• at least
• if only
• even just

In this sentence it softens and limits the wish:

• not a whole indoor jungle
• just at least one green plant

So:

• одного зелёного растения = one green plant
• хотя бы одного зелёного растения = at least one green plant

It gives the sentence a modest, realistic tone.

Because у окна means by the window / near the window, while на окне usually means on the window / on the windowsill.

So the difference is:

• у окна = located next to the window area
• на окне = physically on the windowsill

In this sentence, у окна is broader and more natural if the speaker just means they want a plant positioned near a window for light.

If they specifically meant on the windowsill, they might say:

• на окне or even more explicitly:
• на подоконнике

Because Где бы мы ни жили is a subordinate clause, and Russian separates it from the main clause with a comma.

Structure:

• subordinate clause: Где бы мы ни жили
• main clause: мне всё равно хочется хотя бы одного зелёного растения у окна

This is very normal Russian punctuation.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though each version has a slightly different emphasis.

Original:

• Где бы мы ни жили, мне всё равно хочется хотя бы одного зелёного растения у окна.

Possible variants:

• Мне всё равно хочется хотя бы одного зелёного растения у окна, где бы мы ни жили.
• Хотя бы одного зелёного растения у окна мне всё равно хочется, где бы мы ни жили.

The original is the most natural because it first sets up the regardless-of-place idea, then gives the main point.

So the word order is not random; it is chosen for emphasis and flow.

It is mostly literal: a green plant.

But in natural usage, зелёное растение often suggests a living houseplant or leafy plant, as opposed to flowers in a bouquet, dried decoration, or something artificial.

So the phrase gives a simple, homely image: at least one real green plant by the window.

Yes, it sounds natural and idiomatic.

What makes it natural:

• где бы ... ни ... is a very standard structure
• мне хочется is a common way to express a personal wish
• всё равно works well with the concessive first clause
• хотя бы одного... sounds realistic and conversational
• у окна is a normal way to describe placement

So even though there are several grammar points packed into one sentence, it does not sound artificial.