- Ted does not want to move in with Stella because he hates New Jersey. Robin prematurely quits her TV job because she incorrectly thinks that she already has a new job.
- Ted has been commuting by train from Manhattan to New Jersey to be with Stella. Problem is, Ted despises New Jersey and he does not care for the train commute, but figures when he and Stella get married, she and her daughter Lucy will move to New York, but Stella has no plans to move to New York however. Ted, Marshall, Lily and Barney go to Stella's house. They cannot go out because Stella can't get a babysitter. While there, they start "beating up" on New Jersey and an argument ensues over which is better; New York or New Jersey. In addition, Stella tells Ted she has no plans to move to New York when they get married, because she doesn't want to uproot her life, as well as Lucy's and there's an argument about where they should live. Now Ted has to decide if he will live in New York, without Stella and Lucy or be with them in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Robin is miserable at Metro News One, because of the "fluff" pieces she has to report and the puns she has to say, even if it is in bad taste. She thinks she got hired for a national anchor job, She says her goodbyes on the air, but it turns out to be an audition. She feels there are better candidates than her at the audition, so she calls her boss to get her job back. Everyone is telling her don't do it. She finds out that she can get her job back, provided that she can be in the studio in a half hour from Stella's house.—goleafs84
- Dating Stella makes Ted feel like he's missing out in life if only because she lives in New Jersey. He is always on the train traveling back and forth between Manhattan and New Jersey, meaning he misses a good part of what is happening in Stella and Lucy's lives, as well as his friends lives. What he hasn't told Stella yet is that he hates New Jersey. Ted's friends also hate New Jersey, so they accept with major reservations Stella's invitation for them all to hang out in New Jersey on a Saturday night. The night doesn't go quite according to plan for any, but mostly for Ted who learns that Stella expects him to move into her house after they get married. Will this issue become a deal breaker? Only Lucy may be able to break the deadlock. Meanwhile, Robin, believing that she got a national news anchor job, quits her Metro News 1 job with great aplomb on-air on what is to be her last telecast. But she learns that the national job is only an audition. As much as she hates Metro News 1, will she go crawling back? And Barney looks for some validation in the form of a knuckle pump from any of his friends, who will only oblige if it is worth it. Barney won't let down his hand until he gets one, which may take some time if at all.—Huggo
- Ted is complaining about having to travel so far to see Stella in New Jersey, as she is often asleep by the time he gets there. It also means he misses some key events with the group, like Barney trying to pick up a lesbian by dressing in feminine clothing, and Robin getting promoted to the national anchor job. When he tells Stella about this, she suggests the group comes to New Jersey for a night out. At first, the group rejects this idea, making fun of New Jersey, and also reminding Ted of how much he hates the place himself (he refers to New Jersey as a shit he takes daily). He talks them into accepting, and says that soon he will not have to go back again, as Stella and her daughter will move in with him after they are married.
Robin is sick of her job, as she often reports stupid stories and has to make bad, sometimes insensitive puns. After being offered a major national anchor job, she immediately accepts, and makes her farewell broadcast, with a terrible speech (written by Ted).
On Saturday, Ted, Marshall, Lily and Barney head to New Jersey for a night out, but instead find that Stella's babysitter canceled, and they have to stay in. Ted reminds them that being together is what's important, but Marshall, Barney and Lily are desperate to get back home. Stella overhears their complaining, and takes them into the basement, saying it's 'the coolest bar in New Jersey', with some board games and half a ping-pong table. Barney, after making a bad joke (He likes only 2 types of fish, sucker-fish and blow-fish), asks someone to give him a fist bump, but no one agrees. He declares that he will not lower his arm until someone gives him a fist pound, but is still ignored.
Robin arrives, and says she has to go back to her old job. Robin didn't get the job, she only got a chance to audition for the job, but in her excitement, Robin didn't hear everything and simply quit before she had a new job in hand. Lily and Barney manage to stop her, reminding her of how humiliating it was there, and Robin relents. Ted is shocked to find Stella expects him to move to New Jersey when they get married. Meanwhile Stella did not want to move in with him, thinking he was joking (Ted had mentioned it a few months ago while drinking and Stella had replied sarcastically, thinking he was making a joke), as Manhattan is not a safe place to raise her daughter. She asks Ted to go to the local store to get some beer, where he continues to worry about living in New Jersey, as he feels he will never go back to the city. Marshall seems more open to the idea of living out in New Jersey. He loves the fact that everything in New Jersey has a built-in cup holder. Barney continues to make jokes, hoping for his fist bump, as he seems to be in some pain.
Robin manages to sneak a call to her old studio, and asks for her job back. Since her replacement is terrified of going on air, her producer agrees, but only if she can make it to the studio in time for the broadcast in half an hour. She steals Stella's daughter's bike, and sets off.
When Ted and Marshall get back, Ted confronts Stella about moving to New Jersey, and she responds that she does not want to uproot her daughter. She also states New Jersey is better than New York, a statement that upsets both Ted and Lily. They begin to argue over which is better, while Barney desperately asks someone to bump him.
Robin, meanwhile, is seen performing incredible stunts in order to make it to the studio in time, even back flipping on her stolen bike over a cab that has crashed in the road, at least according to Ted's second-hand telling of the story.
Lily suggests that Stella will grow to love New York, as Marshall did. Marshall reveals he hates New York, as the city is designed for people who are smaller than him, and actually loves New Jersey, with its big stores, lawns and cup holders on everything. NYC is very loud, and is the city that never sleeps. Marshall likes to sleep. NYC has tiny doorways built 150 yrs ago and Marshall has bruises all over his body from bumping into them. Ted refuses to relent, and Stella storms out.
Ted goes to find her, but instead finds Stella's daughter Lucy (Darcy Rose Byrnes), who was woken up by the argument. He reads her a bedtime story to get her back to sleep. Realizing the importance of Stella's reason for staying, Ted, upon encountering her, agrees to move in, saying New Jersey wins.
Robin arrives at the studio just in time, pushing her nervous replacement out of the way, and immediately going on air. After her first story again contains a bad pun, she decides she was right to quit, and leaves. Barney and Lily watch, and Lily says they helped her do that, giving him the fist bump he desired. Despite this, he quickly makes another bad joke, and asks for a high five, which he does not receive, and is still asking later at the bar. Robin reveals she did not get the job she auditioned for, but was offered another, and is going to move to Japan. Barney, shocked, lowers his hand.
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