"your problems are in your head not your town. They follow you no matter how far you run." - Mouse
I realize this thread has moved on a bit since that was said but i completely agree with Mouse here and feel this should be discussed a bit more. The first time I left home I felt very similar to how you described yourself feeling about your town. I thought that "if I could just get out of this place everything would be glorious" So I left and everything was wonderful, at first. I was ignoring my problems not dealing with them and my it didn't take long for my demons (for lack of a better term) to catch up with me and it wasn't until I returned home that I was able to face my problems. Sometimes you just need a fresh perspective.
On the subject of talking to your girlfriend, maybe talking isn't the best idea as there are other forms of communication. For example write a letter, you mentioned that you are not the best talker, and neither am I but with a letter you can proof read and edit and make sure that you put down what you need to say. State your feelings state your needs and let that open up dialogue or ask for a written response (just be there for a response). There is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone! Now I don't know you but I am going to believe you when you say you wont go back to drugs, but unless you are able to grow from this then you will just find another form of escapism.
best
JoeGerminate
The whole letter thing...ehh...I LIVE with this girl. What am I gonna do, stand across the room while she reads it? It would be really weird for me to write her a letter since we live together.
Also, it's not my problems I'm running away from, necessarily. It's the hopelessness of the place in which I live. There is so much more opportunity in New York, so many more people that are like me, that I fit in with. This place is a cesspool of meaningless lives and lowered expectations. And, I can't have that. If I stay here, I can literally SEE where I'll be in 20 years, and knowing that is the worst feeling in the world, not only the fact of knowing, but what I see as well.
I can deal with my problems and have. So many people here think that I'm running from some great personal problem, which is not the case. The problem IS THIS PLACE. That's it. Take into account that literally YEARS of thought have gone into this.