How to respond when she says she'd rather get to know you in person

She is telling you how she wants to spend her attention, not that she is losing interest. The phrase 'get to know you' is doing the work here. It means she wants real conversation, and she thinks a table will give her more of it than a phone screen. Check the rest of the thread. If her earlier messages had questions in them and her replies were quick, the interest is still there and only the channel is changing. If her replies had been shrinking before this, the line may be a polite way to end the chat, and the right response is a short, friendly close rather than a push.

If her profile mentions something she likes doing, that is worth pointing to. Someone who says 'I'd rather meet' while listing hiking or live music is usually telling you the easiest place to start. The point is to connect the meeting to something she already cares about so that agreeing feels like a natural next step rather than a leap.

The first job of your reply is to take her preference at face value. Say that meeting makes sense, in a way that shows you actually heard it. Keep it short. A single sentence that agrees is enough. Resist the urge to ask her why, to probe what she means by 'in person', or to pitch a longer text exchange as a compromise. Those moves tell her you didn't quite accept what she said.

The second job is to make the next step small and easy. A specific suggestion for a short meetup, a drink or a coffee, lowers the cost of saying yes. Keep the window loose enough that she can pick the day. The third job is to leave her a clean exit. If she doesn't want to meet, she should be able to say so without awkwardness. A reply that is warm and light gives her that room.

Wait for her to reply before you follow up, and give it a reasonable stretch. A day or two is normal for someone who is busy or who wanted to think about meeting. If she hasn't answered after two or three days, send one short, light nudge that references the plan, not a new topic. Something that lets her respond with a yes or a no is better than an open question. If that goes unanswered too, let the thread rest. Don't send a third message asking whether she's still interested.

Timing matters. Send your first reply in the same part of the day she usually messages, not late at night when it reads as a bid for attention. If she has been replying within an hour, a long gap after your message is a signal worth respecting.