OOT snowboarders - help me get started

[young Nut]

I have never snowboarded in my life. I have skiied a couple of times, decent enough to go down blue squares, but I never lived close enough to mountains to do many winter sports.

Well I recently moved very close to great ski slopes and I want to get into snowboarding. Most of the people I have met out here snowboard, so come winter I'm sure it will be the activity of the weekend.

Problem is, I have no idea where to start. I'm looking for recommendations on:

-things I need to buy
-good brands to buy for a beginner
-proper clothing and where to get it
-anything else I should know before starting out