I believe you would be very disappointed with solar. Too much rain and snow. As you have been told AC would not be practical.
Many solar unit today do not worry about going off grid, they simple offset their bill by selling power back to the grid. You do not even need a battery bank.
Of course the grid sells you power at the retail price and buys your power at the wholesale price. In sunny AZ that is not much of a problem, in MA it would be more difficult.
Solar works well for keeping your batteries up when boondocking but total off-grid living usually required more energy reduction then most people care to give up.
Good luck