If you are not wanting to get into the HF game you can always get a shortwave receiver with SSB. Personally I feel having a SW receiver and a digital scanner is MANDATORY before having comms. If you don’t have a team/group then all you really need is the SW receiver and the digital scanner.
I have the Tecsun PL-880. It’s a decent receiver. My only complaint is that it uses a 18650 battery but other than that its a good receiver. I used it to monitor before I got my HF license.
Wyoming Survival 