I plan on buying a base apple 5 watch without celluar service. Can I receive text messages?

The GPS only Apple Watch can do  Everything  the cellular model can do  as long as  your iPhone is  nearby, where nearby is somewhere in the same 3-4 bedroom home (assuming typical wood frame construction).  And of course when the iPhone is with you when you leave the house.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205547

The Cellular Apple Watch allows you to leave your iPhone at home while you go for a walk, run, bike ride, etc...

The Cellular Apple Watch shares the iPhone's phone number.  This requires the iPhone cellular carrier to support the Apple Watch.  The iPhone carrier charges a monthly fee for this service.  In the U.S. the fee is $10 per month added to your iPhone bill.

iPhone Cellular Carriers that support the Apple Watch, which models, the radio frequencies each model uses, and the country where they offer service:

https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular

As long as your paired iPhone is nearby, yes.