All you need to get started is a handheld radio capable of 2m and 70cm vhf and uhf bands. Baofengs are cheap, reliable and readily available on amazon. The uv5r or the uv5rm are solid models and you can watch YouTube reviews to make your choice and really it comes down to what you think you'll like more. At this point all you can do is listen until you get licenced. There are 3 tiers of licencing which are technician, general, and amateur extra. Register an FRN with the FCC and study for the technician class license (I used the hamstudy app along with
hamexam.org to take practice exams) You can schedule an in person exam or a zoom exam session through the arrl
arrl.org/online-exam-session once you pass, pay the $35 fee to the FCC and you'll be assigned a call sign good for 10 years and you can start transmitting.
Repeaterbook.com has a list of repeater frequencies around where you live which will allow you to talk to people all over the state. If at that point you're enjoying it, you can invest in an hf radio and start getting into the 10m band that bounces waves off of the atmosphere and will get you contacts all over the world. Hope this helps a bit!