I find perl to be a language that makes it easy to write bad, incomprehensible code. I'm sure it's possible to write good perl. If you're going to take the trouble to write good code, why not pick a language that actually supports that goal? I don't understand why perl would be the starting point, when there are alternatives like python and ruby available.
Did you read a book or tutorial which explained the two types of context (value and type) in Perl, the topic variable, or operator monomorphism?
The language struck me as a poorly integrated collection of features. I found that it was a language that needed to be memorized more than understood. I suppose that if I had stuck with it long enough, I would have internalized the idioms and been productive with it.
Python was much more what I was looking for. I found it effortless to learn, and that my intuition was usually correct. If I thought something should work, based on my understanding of the language's key concepts, then it usually did just work.
Yes, and that's my gravest concern about most Perl tutorials. Perl's theoretical basics are sufficiently different from other Algol family languages that they should be taught explicitly. Expecting people to intuit them over time leads people to conclude that Perl is "a poorly integrated collection of features."
The language does have its warts, but it's much easier to work with when you understand its underpinnings and work with them rather than against them.
(I apologize for the late reply.)