options for working with 2 macs

Hello all,
I now have 2 macs (MacBook and a new iMac ) and researching what my options are for accessing files that are on my iMac, when I'm either somewhere else in the house or somewhere else in the city with my laptop.

I know File Sharing is one option --though I still need to turn this on from my main machine, the iMac (and have been told to turn File Sharing off as soon as I'm done) which I'm not sure is the best option as I'd still need to be in the same room as my iMac in order to access it's files from my MacBook.

Do I have other options?

Thanks so much,
jackie