Word is a really lowsy text editor. Wait... Word is just plain lousy. Anyway, for the last few months, I've been using Textpad, which has been recommended by other Perl coders on this site. It's really good, stable, and has syntax highlighting, for a number of languages. I think this is the best 30 bucks I've ever spent in my life. You can download a trial version and check it out before you buy. Good luck!

Update:

I've recently been using UltraEdit-32 from the advice of others on this site and I think I like it better than Textpad. I really like the ability to navigate to subroutines. It too is only 30 bucks.