The universe is isotropic in its properties in all directions as far as we can observe. If life is just a "disease of matter" (and so far, like it or not, the evidence indicates this), then where ever there are conditions like ours here in Earth, you will get the same result. It will be automatic.
And seeing how life tends to adapt to even the most extreme circumstances, the results will vary greatly.
In terms of encountering intelligent life, especially creatures far more advanced than ourselves, I immediately ask the question, "If they can take anything they want from us like candy from a baby, why don't they?" Such behaviors are common to living creatures, ourselves, for all our "intelligence", included.
I have a few theories on that, which dovetail into why the universe seems so quiet to research efforts such as SETI.
I doubt there's anything we humans possess, that can't be had in great abundance, throughout the cosmos. A race so advanced that they'd harnessed the technology to shrink time and space wouldn't need to take anything from this third-rate mud ball of a planet.
I have a few theories on that, which dovetail into why the universe seems so quiet to research efforts such as SETI.
I think that SETI is monitoring the wrong sort of frequencies. I highly doubt that ET uses the radio band to communicate. I won't venture a guess as to what carrier wave they might be using, but if SETI were to stumble across it, I think they'd be overwhelmed with the volume of traffic "out there".