are probably among the reasons!

The Spanish government's refused dialogue and degraded the region's constitutional autonomy since 2011. That's a major reason why this is all happening at the moment.

Catalonia. The citizens would lose their pensions and healthcare. Mostly because on Sunday over 1 million people protested against independence.

their new country. gated crossings with customs and citizen checkpoints at every sidewalk, street, rail line, and airport.

That's a BIG "if", obviously, though as already part of a EU state, it could probably meet the criteria for entry quite easily IF the political will was there (there's parallel with documented positive statements from EU officials in the last couple of years about the prospects of a future independent Scotland joining the EU in its own right).