So on a local machine, in virtualization, you are running an IDE, SharePoint Server, SQL Server, IIS, TFS. If you aren't running it from a separate SSD drive then the problem has nothing to do with the IDE. You have an IO bottleneck.

I'm not sure where you pulled SharePoint and SQL Server from, and running the TFS client is a far cry from running the TFS server.

That said, my experiences with Visual Studio only serve to underscore the point that my peers would prefer to avoid running a Windows VM altogether if there are open-source alternatives that are good enough.

From your comment, you said TFS. TFS is the server, which include SqlServer, Sharepoint, an OLAP cube, and the TFS server components. The TFS client extension, (which is not TFS) has been baked in for the last 2 versions. So I assume you're using VS 2010, and that is a much different beast. It has a lot more issues, but it's a much improved IDE.

As far as virtualization, why are you working in a virtual environment? What are your machine specs? What is the emulator? I'm genuinely curious, because I haven't encountered any of those issues.

I was referring to Team Explorer which, as of VS2013, doesn't appear to be included out-of-box. Apologies for the confusion.

Virtualization is kind of a red herring here, because as mentioned before, this happens on an array of workstation-level hardware (quad-core Xeon/i7, 16-32GB configurations, SSD).

The point is that virtualization makes these already-painful existing issues much more pronounced, such that my peers actively want to avoid spinning up a Windows VM for a project. These experiences, whether agreed with or not, were largely responsible for the immediate revulsion my team felt to Windows-based solutions. I can't begin to explain how excited people were at the prospect of not having to use Visual Studio anymore when ServiceStack rolled out at my prior company.

My use case for virtualization is mobile development spanning iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Azure-backed services. The last few companies I've been on-site at outfit their employees with high-end MacBooks, with developers occasionally using virtualized Windows under protest.

Team Explorer has been baked in for the last two versions. Regardless, most of your points have little to do with Visual Studio, and a lot to do with Windows and Virtualization. Besides, half your gripes can be turned off in the settings.

If you have to work with the tools daily, then take the time to learn them. You'll thank yourself.

I'm not sure if you're intentionally glossing over the "this happens with or without virtualization" point, but I'm glad you're happy with the tools you're using.