Could
Rhovanion be a possible dwelling before this, or were they still in Hildórien, Wild Wood near Orocarni?.
The Prologue in "Fellowship" states:
"It is clear, nonetheless, from [their most ancient legends, hardly looking back father than their wandering days], and from the evidence of their peculiar words and customs, that like many other folk
Hobbits had in the distant past moved westward. Their earliest
tales seem to glimpse a time when they dwelt in the upper vales of
Anduin, between the eaves of
Greenwood the Great and the
Misty Mountains."
One might deduce, with all due caution, that "wandering days" could mean that they had a (semi-) nomadic way of life before crossing the Misty Mountains.
Then the description a little later about the the three different "breeds" of the Hobbits (echoing the three Houses each of the Eldar and of the
Edain).
The
Harfoots had much to do with the
Dwarves in ancient times, and long lived in the foothills of the
mountains. … They were the most normal and representative [and smallest] variety of
Hobbit, and far the most numerous. They were the most inclined to settle in one place [
least nomadic?], and longest preserved their ancestral habit of living in tunnels and holes.
The
Stoors lingered long by the banks of the
Great River Anduin, and were less shy of
Men. ...
The
Fallohides, the least numerous, were a northerly branch. They were more friendly with the
Elves than the other Hobbits were, and had more skill in
languages and song than in handicrafts; and of old the preferred hunting to tilling. ...
Dwellers in the foothills, dwellers on the river banks, northern hunters - stuff for a fanfic?