Indeed, but while those contemporaries (really? a decade difference? In programming land? That's multiple paradigm shifts but sure why not) grew up and evolved

Indeed, but while those contemporaries (really? a decade difference? In programming land? That's multiple paradigm shifts but sure why not) grew up and evolved to keep appealing to an every changing crowd, Perl 5 didn't, for better or for worse. But compared to C style languages, it's going to be "for worse". Perl code is not easy to read unless you already know Perl, or someone intentionally wrote it inefficiently enough to be easy to read to people who don't. That's why I balk at it. Using Perl in 2025 because you have to: sure, we all have responsibilities. Using Perl in 2025 because you like working in it: also sure, enjoy what you enjoy. Talking about the Perl code you wrote to do something cool: pretty cool, nice job! But that won't stop me from also going "but: really? Perl? In 2025? You couldn't have picked a modern language?".