Here are some settings that I use in Vim to make it useful without having to install a ton of plugins.
" Vim File Search Settings
set path+=**
set wildmenu
Setting the path variable will allow Vim to search subdirectories and turn on tab completion.
Setting the wildmenu will show a list of matching files in a popup line when tab completion is used.
Once these two are set, you can use :find with tab and * to autocomplete and wildcard-match files.
" Vim Tag Jumping
command! MakeTags !ctags -R .
To use this, ctags must be installed. When this command is issued, a tags file
is created. Then, you can use ^] to jump to a tag that's under the cursor. Use
g^] for an ambiguous tag search. Use ^t to jump back to where you were. Issue
the command as needed to update the tags file. (^ means the control key.)
To autocomplete words while typing, use control x to start the autocomplete.
Then use control n for local completes (from within the file), control f for file name completes, and control ] for tag completes.