Are you tied to 2.7 for any other libraries or are these minor bits all that's keeping you from switching? If so I'd really recommend you just try python3 for

Are you tied to 2.7 for any other libraries or are these minor bits all that's keeping you from switching? If so I'd really recommend you just try python3 for a week, and have a play with some of the new features/functionality and the minor points will soon melt away.