I have one hive left out of four. Started three years ago with three nucs then split two of them off to form another hive with a new queen. The bees accepted her and that hive is doing great.
The second summer, three hives swarmed and the bees left. I was lax in checking on the hives and the wax moths wrecked those hives.
I'm going to clean them up and set them out to see if they will be reoccupied. Lemon grass oil is the attractant used. Just a few drops inside the empty hive and it signals the bees that it's a good place.
The chances of a hive being occupied by a swarm is very good, something like 1 in four around here.
The fourth hive that I have now is thriving. Using the styrofoam type hives and they seem to winter over better than the wood hives.
Gearing up will cost you a few bucks for a suit, smoker, a few tools, the hive/s, the nucs( a nuc is a small swarm with a queen used to start a hive). They are getting expensive these days.
You'll also be hitting the sugar sales to feed them. I keep several hundred pounds of sugar on hand and buy it in 50lb bags and re package in gasketed buckets purged with nitrogen to decrease moisture.
Check with your county extension office, they likely know who to contact for a class.
Good luck.....they are fun to watch and are pretty smart creatures. My honey harvest has been minimal just because of timing and weather. I left most of it for the bees, there's plenty around here from other keepers at a reasonable price.