GtD has good advice about playing up the neck - If you are getting above A on the E string , its a hell of a lot easier if you can work across the strings , rather than up and down the neck , and it DOES make Eflat and such a lot easier .
As far as 'reach' is concerned , obviously , long fingers make all the difference , but with my short stubbies an F chord with the A on the E string is easy enough . That of course means using the little finger .
And John is right about the cross picking - NOT a guitar technique normally , but makes the Mandolin and the Tenor Banjo much more interesting .