Also, Perl 5 is feature-stable, and probably always will be. Python is in this 2.x-3.x limbo right now where it's difficult to find libraries that are going to work as-is for much longer. If you write a Perl application well, maintenance will as easy as reasonably possible, which I think is the only real measure of a good language. Most of the 'ease of use' problems disappear once you know what you're doing, and the language learning curve is a relatively small part of a programmer's life-cycle.