I do a lot of Elixir programming, which is different and not at the same time :-) . What I find is that it takes me longer to write the initial code than I might in, say, JavaScript, but that the refactoring and ongoing maintenance of code is significantly faster. This is because I think the functional & actor paradigms force you to think harder upfront, but once those decisions are made are easier to manipulate. For me personally, I'd take that trade since I'm either refactoring or maintaining much more frequently... but I understand there are other considerations which could drive a different preference.
Also, I'm sure my personal experience isn't necessarily true for everyone... so weight this anecdote accordingly.
Also, I'm sure my personal experience isn't necessarily true for everyone... so weight this anecdote accordingly.