Configuring a new machine in an up-to-date way

Friends,

Assuming no significant interference from the polar vortex, later this 
week I will be installing either FreeBSD or OpenBSD on a recent model 
Asus ultrabook computer.  This will be the first time since ... well, 
first time in many years that I will be working with a new operating 
system on a machine that I own and am completely responsible for.  So it 
provides me with an opportunity to configure the machine with up-to-date 
(and, perhaps, "best") practices.

I would like your guidance on how to proceed once the new OS is 
installed.  Here are my plans for this machine:

1.  I don't intend it to be my primary personal laptop -- at least not 
at first.  I don't intend it to be the box to which I download my email 
or from which I browse the web.  At least at first it will not be the 
machine on which I do my perl5.porters-related work or go on IRC.

2.  I do intend to use it to do smoke-testing of CPAN distributions. 
Specifically, those distributions which changes in Perl 5 blead break, 
as reported in the tickets Andreas files on rt.perl.org.  Andreas does 
his testing on Linux, so smoke-testing on a non-Linux system can be 
helpful in resolving an RT.  For example, if I were able to do a *BSD 
smoke test against blead for Devel-SizeMe, I would be confident in 
closing https://rt.perl.org/rt3/Ticket/Display.html?id=119295.

I don't currently do testing of CPAN distros *against blead* or *against 
dev releases* (e.g., 5.19.*) because, on dromedary at least, I haven't 
figured out how to install an easily disposable blead or dev against 
which I can test a CPAN distro.

(I don't intend to do general smoke-testing of "all CPAN against blead 
or dev release" with this machine.  It's just a laptop, after all.)

3.  I do intend to use this machine for testing of Perl 5 blead. 
Currently I test blead on Linux/x86_64 (the dromedary server) several 
times a week and on my 10-year-old iBook G4 (Darwin/PPC) several times a 
month.  I don't actually submit smoke reports; I merely file RTs when 
they occur.  I may or may not consider smoke tests against blead on this 
*BSD once it's up and running.

4.  I do intend to use this machine for learning a new language which 
sits on top of the JVM.  Both my current laptop and my Linode are not 
suitable candidates for installing a JVM.

5.  For the past several years, my approach when being presented with a 
new box on, say, $job, has been to compile the latest Perl 5 stable 
release from source and install it into /usr/local/.  I then use 'cpan' 
to install Devel::Cover, DateTime, LWP, Moose, etc.  I have had some 
limited experience with 'perlbrew' at $job, but not for the purpose of 
switching between a stable version of Perl and one intended to test 
things against the cutting edge.

So, given the above, what would you recommend once the new OS is 
installed and I can do 'perl -V'?

Specifically, how should I install and use tools like:

* perlbrew
* cpanm

Note that outside of the considerations listed above, I would like to 
rely on the OS's ports/packages system for all other software installation.

Thank you very much.
Jim Keenan