Are you using automatic indentation, parenthesis matching, and highlighting the current s-expression? Lisp environments have, or can be given, a lot of tools to make the syntax easier to follow at first.

You may already have heard about those things - but I just thought I'd mention them on the off-chance you haven't.

Personally I find the syntax a lot easier to read - less giving up syntax than eliminating what's always looked like a bit of a mess to me ^^ Though, horses for course maybe, as you say.