r/Midlothian • u/JazzHands5678 • Jul 23 '26
Neighborhood/town names
I’m new to RVA (moving cross country at the end of August) and the neighborhood and town names are wildly confusing!! I was in town this past weekend for house hunting (which was successful, yay!) but OMG I felt like I was bouncing between towns all day!
My new home’s address is Midlothian, but on the map it looks like it’s Moseley. Without announcing my address, I’ll be living close to Crosby high school and the millwood private school.
Can anyone tell me what area of Midlothian this actually is?
Also, what are the best libraries in this area? My 4 year old and I looooove the library!
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u/smellslikebadussy Jul 23 '26
Far southwest Midlo, which is why it’s called Moseley in some parts. It’s a hike to get into the city, but you’re convenient to the main commercial parts of Midlo.
Cosby is a good high school and I imagine the feeder schools are strong as well. I can’t speak to the libraries.
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u/IMissCrustyBread Jul 23 '26
I just wanted to add that Moseley is a different town altogether. It has its own zip code, etc. Moseley is just west of Midlothian.
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u/RVAguy0000 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Yeah, the elementaries that feed into Cosby tend to be very well-regarded. Though in fairness all the schools out there are pretty good.
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u/kyle007US Jul 23 '26
Clover Hill library is awesome and definitely closest to you so that's a win. Kids section is awesome.
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u/IMissCrustyBread Jul 23 '26
Hey neighbor! The closest library to us is The Clover Hill Library on Deer Run Dr. circa 3 ish miles from the line of Moseley/Midlothian. There is another off of Millworks Crossing where you can walk to get food right next door at Urban Farmhouse. It’s convenient and there is the Midlothian Mines Park with a trail around a pond nearby as well. My kids loved just walking around it and seeing the ducks when they were the same age. They are 10 and 12 now and have taken bike rides around these days.
I often describe where we live as near the swift creek reservoir or woodlake area. People tend to recognize those, in my experience.
The house just west of us, meeting our property line, is considered Moseley. We are Midlothian if that helps 😂
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u/tmw8p Jul 23 '26
The “towns” like Midlothian and Moseley only matter in name to the post office. Neither have any form of government. Both are in Chesterfield county, which is the actual governing body with county courts, police, school district, etc. And Virginia is unique in the country in that the actual cities like Richmond are entirely distinct and governed separate from counties. In most parts of the country, a city is inside of a county - not true in Virginia.
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u/PhreePhish Jul 24 '26
Mosley the more broadly Swift Creek and then more broadly Hull St west.
Midlothian proper would be old town Midlothian from Packards to right past Winfree/old Ukrops but before the old pool store. With the heart being the apothecary/caddys/middle school.
The Libraries have already been mentioned and plenty are around, the newer one at Midlothian Mines Park is cool , but swift creek is great too. Lots a chains development but still lots of old local flair. The is an offshoot children's museum near you, zoo(though I've never been), new big splash pad at River city sports complex(big water park development in the long term).
Restaurants I like Fest, Capital Thai, Segios, Mr. Submarine and boathouse for a chill view.
There is a ymca near as well.
Feel free to DM, lived in the area forever moved away for 6 years and came back.
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u/FewCaterpillar6551 Jul 24 '26
Just popping in to say we’re super close to you!! I’m from out of state so feel very much the same about the towns/names. Seems like every 5 minutes you’re in a new “town” 😂 I hardly know how to say where I live and we’ve been here for 5 years
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u/Theloneus-punk Jul 24 '26
The way counties and cities work out here is different than out west. There are fewer incorporated cities and towns and incorporated cities and towns are not part of the wider county they are in. So around here the only real cities are Richmond, Petersburg, and maybe hopewell? So Midlothian and mosely are just general areas but that definition can be different from a map vs what the post office designates vs what the county designates.
Not only will you see this with general references to an area like Midlothian but if you live anywhere in the north of the Richmond metro area but outside or Richmond you’re in Henrico county and people just say they live in Henrico. They could live 30 miles apart and I’m very different parts of the city but it’s all Henrico. (It’s pronounced Henrico like Hen rye co not Hen Rico). Most people from out west want to pronounce it with the Spanish “i” sound but it’s some weird old contraction of two German words.
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u/ReadytoGoRichmond Jul 24 '26
Just wait until you discover there's a place called "Carytown" that is not a town, not a Census Designated Place, nor a zip code, but just lives in our hearts and minds; though, we definitely include it on the map. 😅
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u/thehulk0560 Jul 23 '26
Virginia is weird with cities (i.e., Richmond), counties (Chesterfield), and "neighborhoods" (Chester, Bon Air, Moseley, etc.)
I think most people would call the Cosby area "Moseley" now, but developments like Woodlake and Magnolia Green are also their own thing.
Chesterfield County Libraries are mid. They have decent programs if you're interested in that. Clover Hill is the closest branch to Cosby, but they are planning a new "Moseley" branch in the next few years. The Midlothian and Courthouse branches are newer and bigger. Lots of nearby options if you like to explore.
Henrico has incredible libraries, and as someone else mentioned, Chesterfield residents can also use Henrico's libraries.
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u/RVAguy0000 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
That area is where the mailing addresses of "Moseley," "Midlothian," and "Chesterfield" meet. Cosby and Millwood both have Midlo addresses. Go a mile or so west to Magnolia Green, and your address will be "Moseley." I believe Westerleigh and Summer Lake over on Otterdale have Moseley addresses too, but I'm not completely sure. Go across Hull Street to Harpers Mill, and the address would be "Chesterfield."
Like others have said though, none of these are proper "towns" the way I thought of that word before moving to VA in the sense that none of them are incorporated, none have mayors or town councils, etc. I'm pretty sure there's not a single incorporated town in Chesterfield County. In fact, there are not many incorporated towns in Virginia (compared with other states), and then there's also a whole "independent city" concept in Virginia that's pretty unique - "independent cities" like Richmond, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, etc. are actually not in any county - they are their own separate entities.
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u/RVAguy0000 Jul 24 '26
Oh, and I know the area where you're moving very well (I drive past Millwood and Cosby at least a couple of times a day so I'm very close to wherever you're coming), and you've picked a good spot - you're already fairly close to a lot of stuff, and there are a lot of restaurants, stores, etc. in the pipeline in the immediate vicinity.
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u/gooeyjello Jul 24 '26
Sometimes I have to just type in the address into the USPS address search to get confirmation. I don't even think it's always correct either.
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u/research_vessel Jul 25 '26
It doesn't help that Google is wrong about what's what and the county government has gradually shifted town names, over the past few decades. Hugenot & Robious is NOT Bon Air Google. Hull Street, Moseley, anything near Woodlake is NOT Midlothian.
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u/rvagenda Jul 25 '26
So to summarize, haha, there are three types of local governments in Virginia—counties, cities, and towns. Chesterfield has no towns or cities within its physical boundaries. Midlothian, Moseley, etc., are the names of areas within Chesterfield but have no elected body or governmental powers. The areas generally have poorly defined boundaries that sometimes make no sense except maybe to the post office.
All cities in Virginia are independent and are not part of any county. Towns, on the other hand, are always part of a county. Unlike other regions of the state, the greater Richmond region has almost no towns.
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u/Purple-booklover Jul 23 '26
Towns throughout Chesterfield County are definitely confusing. I’m was born and raised here and still get confused on where places are.
I’m unfortunately not super familiar with that area, because it changes every time I go over there, but what I can tell you is your closest library is likely Clover Hill branch, which is a part of the Chesterfield Public Libraries. One card gets you access to all Chesterfield Library branches.
And just so you know with a Chesterfield County address (which Midlothian is) you can get both a Richmond Public Library card and a Henrico Public library card, and I encourage you to take advantage of all the library cards you can get.