Most people involved with linux know that the money is made by running and designing systems, not writing the software. Perl shouldn't be looked at as a "money-making career", but as a tool which makes system administrators and network designers work easier. That said, spend the money overseas where it means more, as long as it is opensource. The money might mean a house to them, where here it might make a car loan payment.

If I was in charge of some big server farm, I certainly would want some Perl expert, like those that always give the right answers here, to be a full time paid staff member. But to pay the salary they demand, for an app, probably isn't wise business. Unless the app is central to some money making operation you have planned.

Here's an idea....buy the software work overseas, and donate the saved money to creating a Perl Software Foundation, that will do more Perl promotion. (I've been fantasizing what I would do if I won the lottery....make a Perl retirement community where all the Perl wizards, who never made alot of money, could retire and spend their days with other retired programmers, writing snippets and code for the world to use. (Might have to live in Air Conditioned tents, all networked together) :-)