Get your HAM license just for fun and buy a $40 Baeofeng. It's easy.

During the Snowpocalypse I was able to find gasoline for my Parents' generator only because I could talk on the local repeaters and see where availability was located.

Houston has many repeaters:

https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/location_search.php?state_id=48&type=city&loc=Houston