Try Sublime Text 2. It's fantastic (just like TextMate):

http://www.sublimetext.com/2

It's free for now.

Be sure to check Sublime package Manager. There are hundreds of Sublime extensions, many of which were ported directly from TextMate (and have .tmbundle suffix!):

http://wbond.net/sublime_packages/package_control

List of packages: http://wbond.net/sublime_packages/community#sort-installs

SublimeText 2 isn't really free. You have to pay for it, even now - just that it doesn't nag you too much.

That said, it's a great editor.

I just tried out Sublime Text 2. I can see the reason why its users like it.

As for me, it seems to take somewhat easy tasks and makes them more difficult. Installing packages was a head-scratcher at first, even with your guidance.

I'm just going to stick with Notepad++. It may not be pretty, but its straightforward and gets the job done.

Yeah, packages by default are hard on sublime. I recommend installing package control: http://wbond.net/sublime_packages/package_control

Can I navigate files and folders by pressing keyboard keys without triggering an edit in the current open file in Sublime Text, np++ explorer plugin seems to do that seamlessly

+1 for Sublime. It is awesome... and for someone like me who switches b/w Windows and Linux, it's the perfect IDE.

Definitely not free, but non-self-crippling.

"Sublime Text 2 may be downloaded and evaluated for free, however a license must be purchased for continued use. There is currently no enforced time limit for the evaluation."