so I just passed my technician exam last week and im trying to figure out what handheld to get as my first radio. I've been doing way too much reading and now I'm more confused than when I started honestly. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion and a lot of it contradicts each other.

Some people say just get a Baofeng UV-5R to start because its cheap and you can learn on it without worrying about breaking something expensive. Other people act like suggesting a Baofeng is basically a war crime and tell you to get a Yaesu or Kenwood right away. I dont really know what the difference is in terms of day to day use, like will I actually notice a huge difference on the local repeater?

I plan to mostly use it for hitting the local 2m repeater and maybe some simplex around town. Not doing any serious emcomm stuff or anything like that, just want to get on the air and talk to people. Budget is flexible I guess, I could do $50 or I could do $200 if there's actually a reason to spend the more. Anyone been through this recently or remember what they started with?

Congrats on the ticket. Honestly the Baofeng war is never going to end on the internet so I'll just tell you what I actually think — the UV-5R is fine to start with, full stop. You'll learn how to program an HT, you'll figure out what CTCSS tones are, you'll drop it in a parking lot and not feel terrible about it. The audio is a little rough and the receiver isn't great in busy RF environments but on a quiet 2m repeater in the suburbs you probably wont even notice.

That said if you think you're going to stick with the hobby — and it sounds like you might — saving up for something like a Yaesu FT-65 or one of the smaller Kenwood TH series is not a bad call either. The build quality is just noticeably better and programming is way less of a headache. Depends what you want to spend really. Either way get on that repeater, introduce yourself, and the locals will probably have all kinds of opinions for you too.

i started with a UV-5R about two years ago and then upgraded to an FT-70D after maybe six months. The Yaesu is just... nicer, like the buttons feel solid and the menu doesn't make me want to throw it out a window. but I used the Baofeng for a while first and it did the job. the main thing I noticed upgrading was the receiver, the Baofeng would sometimes pick up weirdness near my house from some local noise source and the Yaesu handles it way better. anyway both work for a local repeater so don't stress too much about it