What are your neighbours like?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Knight of Gondor

Mine are like the Drúedain. Reclusive and unfriendly.

Notably, Tolkien may have based some ideas of hobbits on the citizens of Kentucky:

Tolkien's Ol' Kentucky Hole?

Hobbits in Kentucky

I went to internet phone books and found no entries for Baggins, Tooks or Bracegirdles, no Brandybucks (there's a Meriadoc Brandybuck living in Florida, though!), but several Burrows and Grubbs and a few Proudfoots.

I went to a lecture on this topic at Birmingham 2005. The guy who gave it (can't remember his name but he was truly impressive, a huge American bloke with a beard and big belly and who played a They Might Be Giants song on his keyboard - totally eccentric) reckoned there wasn't anything in the idea in particular as a lot of the names crop up elsewhere in similar numbers too.

I went to school with some Bilbos and I work with a Proudfoot. Took is a fairly common name in the UK too.

[The Might]

Well, I have my uncle and aunt next-door, clearly Sackville-Bagginses (they really are).
My grandfather probably a Hobbit, something like the old Proudfoot in the movie.
Some Dwarves next door, since the guy is really good at building stuff
Probably Elves on the other side of the road cause all I hear from there is piano music.
And the rest are pretty much Dunlendings who always complain after my outdoor-parties.