grown up type thoughts

so, patrick and i had a really good talk last night. he was asking me what i thought of his grad school plans, where i might be likely to find a job, and all manner of questions that i don't really yet have an answer to. he asked me where i want to live and where i'd want to work. of course, at this point i don't know. he mentioned that he could probably do a doctorate at MSU and get paid for it. he knows that i abhor east lansing. i also recognize that it'd be amazing for us if i were the only one in debt from grad school. i really do hate east lansing. and after having lived in madison, i really don't want to go back to MI at all. what would there be for me there? it's hard enough for people with business and computer degrees to get jobs in MI right now...i can't imagine that i would find one. at the same time though, i want to be with patrick. i love him, and would actually make that sacrifice. it could be good...we could pay off my school debt while he's going to grad school, we could take some great trips (like australia), and live together, maybe get a dog...
but.....
east lansing. MI. a most likely irrelevant job.
i guess the bottom line is that i'd go willingly to be with him. but i'm pretty deathly afraid of getting stuck there, becoming my dad. (granted, i don't have depressive tendancies the same way my dad does...he's never really been happy anywhere.) first it's living in east lansing till he's done with his stuff...then he gets a job at MSU that's too good to pass up, and we're stuck there. the thing to remember here is that patrick is not my mom. he won't make me stay somewhere i hate (hell, maybe i'll like EL!), and he's not that enthused about staying in MI either.
he's going to apply to many places, some on the coasts. part of what makes this so complicated is my own carreer uncertainty. at this point, for me, anything could happen.
despite all of this sounding a little scared, depressing, and negative, i'm really thinking more about the positive part: patrick and i are good together, and i want to stay with him. i know that if i make sacrifices for him now (well, in 1.5 years), he will do the same for me when he can. it's really good to feel so secure and happy with someone. (and let me tell you, i must be awfully happy with him if i'd even consider moving to EL...) :)