My recommendation some of the more experienced hams may disagree, but I got started by purchasing on Amazon Prime day a cheap handheld radio called the Baofeng UV-5R, you can still get them on Amazon, I saw one for $25, get it and learn about.
Look up local ham radio clubs in your area, usually they have frequencies listed for local repeaters.
A handheld has a range of 2-3 miles in most situations, a repeater takes a radio signal and repeats it over a much wider area, allowing you to communicate with a handheld over a much greater area.
Learn about the radio, learn about repeaters, and program the radio for your local repeaters, they’re likely to be a lot of them. Software exists that allows you to drop a bunch of configurations into your radio at one time.
Then listen to what others are doing.
If you are interested, go to the ARRL website and learn about testing in your area.
arrl.org is the site.
The test when I took it was $15
You can get a radio, study book, take the test and get what is known as a Technician License, which allows you to transmit to others on the handheld for under $100.
Wow. Thanks for the information.