Question: where do how i met your mother live
Answer: The story goes into a flashback and starts in 2005 with a 27 - year - old Ted Mosby living in New York City and working as an architect ; the narrative deals primarily with his best friends , including the long - lasting couple Marshall Eriksen ( Jason Segel ) and Lily Aldrin ( Alyson Hannigan ) , womanizing - playboy Barney Stinson ( Neil Patrick Harris ) , and news reporter Robin Scherbatsky ( Cobie Smulders ) .