You don't have to use Linux VM for anything other than PHP + web server.
You can still develop on Windows, just instead of testing on localhost, you'd test on local VM.
I realize that, and like I said, I do for final testing. It's enough of a roadblock to rapid development for me to avoid it until I have to make sure it will work on the platform. (VMware shared folders don't always play nicely, so I end up just pushing via hg.)
For my own projects, I would rather work in Windows, with a mild annoyance when testing, than consistently be annoyed by working in either. (I do use a VM for testing before pushing to production, but for quick "is this right" testing, bouncing Django on Windows and eyeballing it is generally good enough to keep pushing forward.)