Ham receiver covers a very wide spectrum of frequencies. And you won't hear squat without an antenna resonant on that band... (or transmit for that matter) So HF covers things like 10, 20, 30, 40 and 80 meter bands. These are really the "round the world" frequencies depending on the cooperation of the sun and atmosphere. The signals basically bounce off the ionosphere...
The 2 meter band covers short range HAM frequencies in the 1440 and 440 MHz UHF and VHF frequencies. These are mostly what you'll find HAMs on locally using repeaters to extend the range. These are typically 6-10 mile line of sight radios and that can be extended literally to infinity with the use of repeaters. But it's rare to get more than about 30 miles of useful range out of these bands especially with the 3.5-5 watt handheld radios.
There is even software you can download to monitor the HAM bands with your computer but of course that goes out the window with the internet going off grid.
The antenna is more important than the radio. Most people with no experience don't think about things this way. But a radio is worthless without an antenna...PERIOD! There are many many low cost home brew antennas that can serve providing you have a way to get it in the air high enough. But you have to understand resonance and how an antenna works. It's not rocket science and it's not hard but it does require some effort. But you'd be surprised what you can do with some common household materials and perhaps a little scrounging or small outlay of money at the homedepot. Again, this isn't how many people think but you can literally build a better antenna than you can buy...
So I can't answer your question really without more information because it's truly a very broad subject. You can buy a HAM transmitter of any kind without a license. The equipment doesn't require a license. Its a license to operate... I promise you can call any retailer and they will ship you a receiver/transmitter with no questions other than what's your address and how do you want to pay,
Also, most people without a HAM license who think in an emergency I'll just whip out my Handitalky and start blabbering away on the airwaves without a license or any experience doing it are deluded. It's not the regulations or authorities that will stop you. It's your total lack of experience doing it. Its not easy to get on the air and be heard...especially on 2 meters with modern day radios that require offsets, and codes, and a half dozen other settings to be heard on another radio or bouncing off a repeater. You'll spend days trying to figure out why nobody can hear you and why you can't trip the local repeater... Listening is a piece of cake. Transmitting is a whole nother ballgame.
For example...you might set up everything perfectly...offsets, codes, etc etc etc... You can hear people talking on a repeater from say 15 miles away. But when you key your handheld and transmit you get nothing. And I promise this happens all the time...and you scratch your head and can't figure out what's wrong....and it may never dawn on you. But that repeater might transmit on an antenna at the top of a very large building using a 100 watt transmitter. Your 5 watt hand talky isn't even close to reaching that far.... But you'd never know that from experience. Because you don't HAVE any operating experience.
What kind of space can you commit to setting up antennas? How high can you get them? My first HF antenna was a half wave dipole antenna for the 40 meter band....a long piece of wire strung up between two trees about 35 feet off the ground . And because of its resonant characteristics it could also work on the 20 meter band. I talked to people around the world for years with that antenna. Probably didn't cost me $15... You can cheaply make a j-pole antenna for the 2m band for pennies that you can haul straight up into a tree and be able to pick up all the UHF and VHF bands in the area...
