It is pleasant to write, but I can't say the same for reading: sometimes it is hard to understand my own Perl code after untouched for a few months. In this regard, my experience is the same: Python is more readable and easy to maintain.
There's more than one way to do it (TMTOWTDI or TIMTOWTDI, pronounced “Tim Toady”) is a Perl programming motto. This is diametrically opposed to the zen of Python: "There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it"
Once you get used to Python, it is very hard to get back to “Tim Toady”, and your Python experience is likely to heavily influence how you write in other languages.
I prefer Perl given a competent team. Mostly because of the CPAN Testers and because it is fun.
Bad with Python are details like e.g. no real one-liners. I also think there is something rotten with the language culture that e.g. results in lots and lots of language war trolls from 19-karma accounts on HN...
To be honest the parent comment to yours first link reminds me of a rather lot of shell/perl created by people that treat things with the procedural mindset and just keep bashing their heads against a problem until it succeeds. There isn't anything wrong with that but that python really is no different stylistically than any of the "horrible perl" stories I've seen. I've seen perl that made most ruby look unreadable at first glance too. I think it really goes to show encrypting human thought into programming languages is not trivial. Also I'm getting sick of these $foo_language is better/worse/a threat(really threat? weird word choice imo) to anything. Every language I learn I learn something new in. Even if its the ones I don't like much like Java/PHP, doesn't mean they're bad languages or they're devoid of being able to teach you new ways to approach problems.
Meh, ranted longer about this than I'd thought I would.
To my mind, that's a success for Perl: it allows people who wouldn't otherwise be able to write programs to do so. Sure, they make messes--who doesn't at first?--but they get things done.
Read https://coosoft.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/the-perl-vs-python-...
It worked out pretty well and I found a great job. I love doing Python, the community and the culture behind the language, so I've never looked back.
I get contacted from time to time by recruiters looking for Perl developers but the truth is that it is still less frequent than Python; and now I don't have to explain that you can use a powerful language in different ways and that it's up to you if your code is readable, maintainable and easy to deploy.