I grew up in Culver City, and my family still owns two houses there- I can vouch for how great it is. It''s got a small town feel in a big town area. Marina Del Rey is nice, like all homes near the water, gets a bit pricey. There are a ton of homes in Santa Monica, about 30 blocks from the beach- which is where I work. Cheviot Hills is definitely lovely, my BIL lives over there, and it''s always nice. There is also MarVista, seemingly a bit crowded, until you get to the nicer homes north of Venice Blvd. Which brings to mind Venice, CA. Lovely, very kistchy (sp?), and the houses can be large, but mostly unconventionally built. (i.e. tall houses on small lots, large houses on large lots, etc.) FI grew up in Venice, and wants us to move there at some point. Of course, these are a bit of a commute to Century City, but if you learn some back ways you can get there in no time. You could also try Beverlywood, not as posh as Bev. Hills, but still really nice houses. I think that may be closer to Century City.
I know a lot of people said they''d hate to live here, but born and bred, I love it. I couldn''t imagine anywhere else.