[vmception]

I would say AVOID fiat meetups.

The centralized exchange issue with Monero is over now because you can access Monero through bridges.

Secret Network has wrapped Monero, full defi functionality and and a bridge to the Monero network and vice versa. These are autonomous and permissionless, so the trusted swappers and goodwill of exchanges is no longer needed. Regulators were playing whack a mole with their relationships to exchanges that listed Monero and now the technology improved to make that approach irrelevant: Antifragile in action.

[opportune]

Localmonero doesn't just use fiat meetups, though that's one option.

Agreed that atomic swaps/crypto:crypto are the way to go for the best UX though in general the fiat->crypto ramp will still be invasive.