Whats the downside anyway ? Since i run all my code on linux VMs, i dont really care for the OS i run my editor in.
Windows7 + cygwin and dev enviroment VMs are fine for me, dont see any downside to using OSX for example.
I believe you're doing it right with the Linux VMs. That's how I roll and it makes me pretty indifferent to my host environment whether it's OS X or Win. Currently on OS X, but might be switching back to Windows. My dev process will likely remain unchanged...