Right, but it would be a problem to communicate/get papers/etc. when not in a bigger city. For example, in other countries residence permits and taxes are handled by local municipality, and I don't think I'll be able to successfully navigate that without Croatian, don't you think?
Also I am looking at the rental website and there's barely anything to rent. I don't own a car, so just logistically it's a bit impossible to come to Zagreb -> find a listing in a village nearby -> spend a few hours going there to see one house -> day wasted -> hotel price keeps piling up
It's frustrating to rent as it is in big cities with hundreds of rental ads (had to spend 2 weeks in 1mil+ cities), I expect it to be impossible when there's even less ads
You handle that differently, do your research online and ask for help. You find a City where you would like to live and offer one of us some kind of compensation to book you a deal.
Regarding the language you will not have a lot of problems in big cities or tourist places and if I was coming to Croatia I would stay on the coast for sure. I am living in Rijeka and you would definitely find an apartment for under 1000EUR here without much problems.
There is also a shitload of real estate agencies in Croatia, hire one of them to do the work for you if you want to keep it official. They are more in the business of selling than renting but i am sure they can hook you up. I can give you contacts if you decide for Rijeka region. For other regions I am sure other guys can help. Especially for Zagreb since most of people in Croatian section are from there.