Life Jim, but not as we know it!

To say the life does not exist elsewhere because we have not yet found it, is the equivalent of looking outside your window, seeing no one, and concluding you are the only person on the planet.

the universe is so expansive it is a bit ridiculous to expect to find life so close to earth.

I don't think we will ever find intelligent life but i do think we will find life (even if microscopic) elsewhere within my lifetime.

A tad of correction...

This is not the first planet discovered orbiting another star. This is the first planet orbiting another "sun-like" star, i.e. a G-Class star (like our own). Whereas we've found literally hundreds of planets around other stars, their position and the star class usually knock them out of the running for being able to support human life (Upsilon Andromedae has a planet orbiting closer than Mercury with a year lasting all of five Earth days)

List of stars with confirmed extrasolar planets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also for additional reference and reading enjoyment:

Stellar classification - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia