My best suggestion is for you to look for a local ham radio club in your area.
It's usually as simple as just looking for your location on the web and deciding which club to visit.
There is no one at the door collecting dues or twisting your arm to join and they usually serve refreshments at the end of the meeting.
Every person at one time or another has had to take the test and so there is already a lot of reading material and practice study guides out there - not being put to use - that you can use without having to spend the $25 a book to buy.
I was sick and couldn't do much of anything for a week and I spent the time while I was home - reading the manuals that a club member loaned to me.
Just out of curiosity, I connected one of my radio scanners to my home antenna and programmed in the local frequencies - everything for 70 miles and turned my antenna in their direction and was able to get some pretty good signals. (Without the large antenna and pre amp - nothing - or next to nothing) because most of the club members talked Simplex - one to one on a non repeater channel, and I live in the middle of nowhere.
Since UHF / VHF is( LOS - Line Of Sight ), if there is anything between you and them ( trees, hills, mountains or if you are deep down into a valley ), and since all frequencies reduce at the square of the distance - you might only be able to listen to one side of the conversation on 2 meters - 146ish Mhz.
The repeaters are usually on 450 - 460'ish Mhz - which is a much stronger signal, since most repeaters are usually a higher power radio and their stick is put up near the top of someones radio tower in a real high location ( top of a hill, mountain etc).
Hence height equals gain.
By using web sites such as
http://www.worldwidedx.com/forums.php
I was able to log their call signs and read their licenses.
Then I was able to make contacts via email.
I happened to talk - via internet - to a club member from a club that also belonged to the The Parasitic Emission.
http://www.parasiticemission.com/
The neat thing was that they had people who could give you the examination - right there at their club house - after the meeting and The Parasitic Commission pays for your test fee's and for your license for life - as long as you do not choose to get a Vanity Call Sign.
The first club I contacted allowed me to participate in one of their outings - after logging call signs for a couple of hours and I was able to talk on their radio for about 4 hours straight.
That let me dabble my foot into it before I took the big plunge.
The second club - gave me my test - which I passed my Technician's the first time and missed my General by 4 questions - and I only studied for my General for about 6 hours / on the side of my Tech license, since you have to take them one at a time and it is more important to take and pass your first exam then to get the second one.
You need to realize that the Technician and General License is just the start and most of your conversations is going to be limited to the 2 meters band and that it is a very expensive hobby.
With the All Star and the Echo Link, it isn't just as easy as buying a cheap / used radio anymore and connecting it to a car antenna and talking.
Your first radio - if you are starting from nothing like I am - can easily cost you $1000.00 by the time you purchase a radio / antenna / computer program and cable to connect your radio to your computer and all the do dad's and knick nacks such as a SWR meter and a antenna tuner and a power supply.
When you get your General - you are probably going to want to buy a good Ham radio and that can be anywhere from $400 for a cheap used rig to more then $12,000 for a top of the line rig.
Not to mention towers and antenna's and amplifiers and wire - which is usually a $1 or more a foot. Antenna rotors - which might be $500.00+
And people to help you erect your set up and get you started.
The good thing is - Ham radio people are from all walks of life and they usually own more radios then what they know what to do with and they usually have spares that they can lend to you and they have advice - some of which will save you thousands of dollars in the long run - when you consider that some radios are a real piece of junk and you shouldn't get involved with anything or anybody that is going to take money out of your pockets - leaving you with nothing to show for a couple months pay - but a radio that doesn't work or a power supply that craps out every time you key the mic. Or shop time - to repair the radio which might cost as much as what it is worth!
One piece of advice is not to hold anything against a entire club, just because one of the members was a idiot or treated you poorly.
You will run into the same thing when you start talking on two meters also - due to the fact that you have to take your test in order to get your license - but anyone that can pass the test can get a license - there is no one at the door to keep the idiots off the radio - just like the CB radio was 35 years ago.
Some people chooses to run the room when you have a Echo Link or All Star node conversation and that is ok sometimes.
But everyone has their own personality - and not everyone in this world is nice people. Don't let the couple of bad apples spoil it for everyone. Just move on and forget them - if they act rude or if they do something offensive. You got to remember that when you get your big license - you can practically talk the whole way around the world with the right atmospheric conditions.
The Two Meters - which I call the Walkie Talkie band is just the most basic of frequencies which a person can talk on and carry on two way conversations. In the end, you will make lot's of friends.
That is where the club house comes in - you get to put faces to the call signs...
73's
Jerry