About 2.5 miles away from downtown Chattanooga is one of the oldest North American Wizarding towns in continuous existence, ᎬᏍᎦᎸ ᎾᎿᎢ. The name comes from Cherokee Native Americans and means Hidden Place. It is generally pronounced Gasalivnani in English, though this is fairly different from the Cherokee pronunciation. The town is located on what is now called Williams Island, and the inhabitants have settled in a large portion of the island, though in order to keep Muggles out, the entirety of the island is protected by both charms similar to those used on the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, where Muggles will often find themselves suddenly remembering a much more urgent errand, as well as those used on Hogwarts, where Muggles (and for a large portion of history non-Cherokee Wizards) will see nothing but a dangerous forested island. Visually, the town is an interesting mixture of traditional Native buildings and modern architecture.
The city was founded in 1838 when the US government began relocation of the Cherokee Nation, under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Rather than move or fight, the magical community of the area chose to hide themselves on the island, laying the enchantments that still protect it today. Unfortunately, conflict between Wizarding and Muggle Native Americans was exacerbated by the actions of settlers, so few Muggles, if any, were allowed to join them in the place. The most notable event in modern history is when the town decided to begin interacting with the Wizarding US government. In the 1920s, just as Muggle relations between Native Americans and the US government were improving, so were those of the Wizarding world. As a result, the town removed the portions of it's protective charms that affected Wizards as well, and began dialogue with the Wizarding government August 15, 1923. The interaction had a profound effect on the magic of both groups, allowing for new spell and potion combinations as a result of European and Native American magical cooperation.
Today, the local culture is still heavily influenced by its Cherokee origins, though some modern aspects have found their way in. The town's official language is still that of the Cherokee Nation. Wizard anthropologists and tourists alike are drawn to the island to study and visit the town's most historic artifact, the stones which embody the enchantments protecting it. There never fails to be at least one group that comes in wanting to see them without having received permission from the local government to do so. Needless to say, they don't get far. In addition to the traditional Cherokee holidays, the town also celebrates the anniversary of it's reunion with US Wizarding Society each year.
Cherokee magic as a whole can be learned greatly here, as the citizens are still raised primarily in the magics until high school. Enchanting specifically is drastically different from the European style, being featured much more commonly in Cherokee daily life than European. We would also be able to learn much more about care of magical creatures here.
Travel should be fairly simple once we arrive in the United States, simply taking a train from M42 within Grand Central Station, in New York City. From there, we would just ride to Track 29 in Chattanooga, the magical portion of which still functions as a train station. How to cross the pond is a trickier issue, though not too terribly so. The United States has a much better relationship with its merpeople than England has, and they have recently developed an underwater equivalent to Floo Powder. This new method of transportation links every merpeople city, which allows us to overcome the unfortunate distance limitation of "traditional" Floo Powder. We should be able to travel from the Great Lake to Hudson Bay, and from there apparate to Grand Central Station.