Well the milky way has existed long enough for it to be colonized many times over..don't even worry about the next galaxy over.
there is way more than enough for us in out own galaxy that we will never get to.
personally, i believe that there is other "intelligent life" in our galaxy. it's just that
the distances even within a single galaxy are mind bending and even the most
intelligent species would find many difficulties within long distance space travel.
we can't even get a person past the moon yet, we are just starting.
So either they are here, or they're so far away we'll never meet. That's the only two options for me

