The SFTP plugin for Sublime allows me to operate on remote files via ssh/sftp quite easily. Set up a local directory with a simple config file with the remote server and file path, and it takes care of the rest. When opening a file, it will automatically sync it down from the server, and when I save the file, it automatically pushes it back up to the server so I can immediately test it from there. And because I keep a dedicated terminal session up, it's a simple alt-tab to switch over and test my changes.
If I'm going to run my editor locally, why not use something that's better fitted to running in a graphical context, rather than something limited to the terminal?
The best of both worlds, if you will.