hmm.. maybe some other HAMS can chime in..
But CB is on a different frequency than the Amateur Radio Bands..
CB is 11 meters and is open for all to use, and technically by fcc rules your limited to 4 watts of power on AM and 12 watts on SSB.. granted most people tune thier CBS for 20 watts or greater.. CB also is point to point communication (you have one and yer friend(s) have one and u talk), its also channelized to 40 channels unless you have high end illegal CB..Galaxy dx 959 or something..
HAM - Amateur Radio you have full segments of the band to play with your no channelized, HAM can run up to 1500watts pep power unless otherwise noted and technician (which is your first license) can run 200 watts on HF (high Freq) bands. The rule of thumb is run only as much power as needed.
For around town and out in the open i prob run no more than 25 watts of power.
Another neat thing is repeaters, around town we have many repeaters that are open for use (free) that will bounce yer signal all over. for example.. I live in Azusa and have a repeater thats maybe 10 miles from me, if i hit the repeater my signal can be heard by my buddy who live in Los Angeles 20 miles away using 5 watts or less of power.. Also know some repeaters are linked, so if you use one of those you could be hitting a repeater in Los Angeles but be talking to some one in Arizona or Utah..
Those are just some of the things you can do... I hope more HAMS Chime in..
Also know to get yer Tech license, it cost 15 bux for the test and you can study online via
www.qrz.com , the test consist of 35 questions.
Get yer License!