The hobbits live in the Shire at the start of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
The Shire is a region of northwestern Middle-earth settled and governed by hobbits. It contains communities such as Hobbiton, Bywater, and Tuckborough, with a landscape of farms, lanes, gardens, and cultivated fields. Frodo, Bilbo, and Sam all have important connections to Hobbiton.
The Shire’s peaceful appearance contrasts with the wider danger introduced by the One Ring. Frodo’s journey begins there, and the story eventually returns there after the defeat of Sauron. The book’s final conflict, the Scouring of the Shire, shows that even this seemingly protected homeland has not remained untouched.
The Shire is not the same place as Bree, where Frodo and his companions meet Aragorn. It is also distinct from the wider geographical region of Eriador, which includes both the Shire and many other lands.